Duck a l’Orange (Duck in Orange Sauce)

If cooking all the way directly, set oven to 175ºC (350ºF).

Bring out duck breasts and pat dry. Turn skin-side up and carefully cut a criss-cross pattern in the skin. Take care not to cut into the duck meat, but still cut as deep into the skin as you can. Season with salt and black pepper.

Place duck breasts in a cold pan (do not use any oil or butter), skin-side down, and place the pan over medium heat. Cook until skin is crisp and golden, about 10–15 minutes. Pour off excess fat regularly while cooking.

When duck skin is crisp and golden and there is not as much fat coming off the duck anymore, raise the heat to medium-high, flip breasts over and cook skin-side up for 1 minute. Make sure to also sear quickly on the other sides of the duck breast. Transfer the breasts to a baking tray, placing skin down, and cover. Set aside until 20–30 minutes before serving.

Place pan back over the heat with some of the duck fat left in it. Add orange juice, honey and sprigs of rosemary. Crush garlic cloves slightly with the side of your knife, remove the husk and add the garlic cloves to the sauce. Let sauce cook over medium heat until reduced by half, about 5–10 minutes, then remove garlic cloves and sprigs of rosemary.

Glaze duck breasts with orange sauce. Stick in a meat thermometer and place uncovered in the middle of the oven. Cook for 10–20 minutes until inner temperature is 60ºC (140ºF) for a pink center. Take out once after 10 minutes and glaze with orange sauce again. If you’re cooking the duck all the way in one go, it will take about 5–10 minutes to finish cooking all the way.

Wrap cooked duck breasts in aluminum foil and let rest for at least 5 minutes. Meanwhile, heat the orange sauce. Slice duck breasts and serve topped with orange sauce.